


Into your arms, surrender

by freedomqueen



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Asexual Relationship, Canon Divergence, Hurt/Comfort, Intimacy, Levi Cares A Lot, Nonbinary Hange Zoë, Other, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-27 05:42:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30118029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/freedomqueen/pseuds/freedomqueen
Summary: Canon divergence | Takes place after S04E11 | Long-term established asexual relationship.***Levi is not with Zeke in the Titan Forest but instead witnesses Hange’s exchange with the so-called Yeagerists. Seeing his Commander, the consequences of the decision he took four years ago hit him hard. But Levi dares not to speak in that moment and –from the shadows– takes in Hange’s appearance. The heavy bags under their eyes, the nervous twitching of their mouth, their defeated sigh… but, above all that, he sees Hange’s iron will.
Relationships: Levi Ackerman/Hange Zoë, LeviHan
Comments: 12
Kudos: 56





	Into your arms, surrender

**Author's Note:**

> I have nothing to say but to blame this fantastic fan-art for this particular one-shot:  
> \- <https://i-am-no-body.tumblr.com/post/643521466180173824/canon-and-unpopular-fact-of-the-origin-of>  
> \- <https://nenmul.tumblr.com/post/628666715729018880/respectation-affection>
> 
> Especially [this](https://lapdancesqueen.tumblr.com/post/643755015051280384/late-night-conversations-the-commanders-oath) amazing fanfiction I came across on tumblr. I took some liberties with it but some of the original dialogue remains the same, or quite similar. Again, thank you [@lapdancesqueen](https://lapdancesqueen.tumblr.com/), the generous author, for letting me base my one-shot on your amazing work. If you haven’t read it, it’s a must. Thank you for inspiring me and for your contributions to the fandom! Viva la levihan nation ♡
> 
> I also would like to thank [@TheeWiccaChick](https://www.fanfiction.net/u/3715967/) and [@CherryBerry12](https://www.fanfiction.net/u/1404940/) for kindly agreeing to beta-read this story for me, without it, this one-shot probably would’ve never seen the light.

* * *

Levi walked in quietly, neither Hange nor Armin noticing, both too busy analysing the documents and maps that were scattered all over the Commander’s desk. He was surprised when, just before leaving, Armin put a hesitant yet determined hand on Hange’s shoulder and gave it a little squeeze before speaking.

“Hange-san, you really should try to sleep. And don’t forget to eat, please.” His voice was gentle yet firm, not unsimilar to how you would talk to a particularly stubborn child. It hurt a small part of Levi to see someone so young act much older than they had any right to be.

_Those damn kids. How dare they get so big… and grown-up._

It was already well past midnight when Armin finally left. Hange, however, didn’t move from their spot at the desk. They continued scribbling in their notebook, until they suddenly stopped, gazing at the clock Levi had given them years ago as a birthday present. Hange sighed, but picked up the pen again after lighting an extra candle. One hand went to their forehead as the other gripped the documents tightly, wrinkling them.

“You look like shit.” Levi came out of the shadows and leaned against the door, arms crossed over his chest.

The scene before him felt so wrong. It was not Hange—or, rather, it was not the same Hange he had met years ago, the crazy scientist and titan enthusiast. Levi felt like he was staring at Erwin’s ghost, the former Commander’s shadow heavily looming over Hange’s shoulders, crushing them.

He hated it.

“ _Oi_ ,” Levi said, walking closer and kicking the desk. “I’m talking to you.”

“Huh? Oh, sorry Levi didn’t see you there.” A fog seemed to clear from the Commander, Hange finally removing their pen from the paper.

“ _Tch._ What’s gotten into you lately?” He sat on the desk’s edge beside Hange, careful to not disturb the lit candles casting ghostly shadows on their sullen face. “Your hand is going to get sore if you don’t take a damn break.”

Levi uncrossed his arms, snatching the documents from their hand, scanning them quickly. Diplomacy bullshit, an unfortunate task bestowed upon the Commander. Hange didn’t argue. Instead, they lowered their head like a kid being scolded by their parents. When they spoke, their voice was quiet, Levi realised that he was unaccustomed to that tone.

“You know I can’t.” They said in almost a whisper. The Commander – _no, Hange; because this was Hange right now_ – sounding so… defeated. It didn’t sit right with him.

He slapped the bullshit papers onto the desk. It was a testament to how familiar they were with each other’s moods, that his little outburst didn’t startle Hange anymore then a slight flinch inward. Like they were protecting their exposed underbelly from a vicious stab. “Yes you can. You fucking _can_ , Hange. You can fucking _rest_ when you need to. The world won’t collapse if you take a damn break!”

Except that was a lie. The world _was_ collapsing.

In the candlelit room, all he heard was a breathy chuckle. The irony didn’t miss him. He knew it was rich from him of all people; telling Hange they could rest when he hadn’t rested in over twenty goddamn years.

“What the fuck’s so funny?” He griped.

“Nothing, it’s just that… It’s been a while since you talked to me like that, is all. Like a friend, and not The Commander.”

Levi’s seemingly permanent scowl softened a little. Because of course he wouldn’t talk to his Commander like that, but Hange? It was the least he owed them. After all, Erwin had been the one to make the call, but Levi felt he was just as much involved in appointing Hange Commander.

“It has been that long, huh?” His voice became perceptibly softer, charged with affection, and _that_ made Hange look at him directly for the first time since he walked into the Commander’s private quarters.

“W-what?”

After all these years, Hange remained as oblivious as ever. It was comforting. Levi sighed and moved closer, his thigh touching Hange’s arm, one of his hands tenderly moving the stray hairs from their face.

It had been so long since he had to complain about Hange’s ridiculous self-care habits _(or the lack thereof, for that matter)_. That he hadn’t realised he had forgotten the softness of their hair. In the daily chaos, he hadn’t noticed how much he had longed for Hange to _look him_ in the eyes. It almost surprised him that their dark eyes – _their eye_ – still glistened with nothing but love and admiration for him.

“You’re so neat in appearance these days,” Levi observed, caressing Hange’s cheek. “Arlert should stand down, you know. He’s overstepping his boundaries.” Hange leaned into his warmth.

“I used to complain about you not bathing.” He gently smoothed his hand over their brunet locks, their previous ponytail in a state of disarray. “And your reckless sleeping habits.” He skimmed a finger underneath Hange’s remaining eye, roughened fingertips catching on the darkened bags. “Or having to feed you…” The same hand ghosted over chapped lips. He took Hange’s chin in an uncharacteristically delicate grip. “When did it– did _I_ stop?”

“It’s been difficult years for all of us, Levi. You are not to blame,” Hange said while getting up, Levi’s hand finding its way down to theirs.

They took his hand to their lips and gave it a soft, lingering kiss. He breathed out, feeling his face redden at the loving, intimate gesture. He had missed the touch of Hange’s lips.

“Besides, I’m not a child.”

Both stood in awkward silence for a bit. Levi was trying to find the courage to say what he really intended to say when he came into the room, or at least _act_ on it. Hange moved past him, but a tug on their coat-sleeve from him stopped Hange in their tracks.

“Hm?”

With their back to him, Levi wrapped his arms around Hange’s middle and gently squeezed. Hange startled for a moment, but they relaxed into the embrace, their hands enveloping his own in their warmth. Levi was still damnably shorter than the other, especially because he was still perched on the desk, while Hange was standing. He leaned his forehead against a tense shoulder blade. Inhaling the scent of soap, dust, and musk that was so purely _Hange._

“What I’m trying to say is–” he began, muffled in the uniform fabric.

“I know _,_ ” Hange interrupted. “ _I know._ ”

If he paid enough attention, he could hear the soft heartbeat against the side of his face. If only they could stay like this forever, instead of dealing with imminent genocide… if only the world could stop being cruel.

“Guess what?” Hange said, holding Levi’s arm closer against their middle.

He hummed his reply.

“I was going to take a bath once Armin left.”

Levi couldn’t help the breathy chuckle that escaped his lips.

**…**

“You used to talk all the time,” Levi said as he softly massaged the soap into Hange’s hair, creating even more suds in doing so. He was sitting on a chair at the end of the bathtub looking down into their face.

“We used to share quiet moments too,” Hange replied, almost defensively. Their eyes closed, a long leg dangling over the edge of the tub.

“ _Barely,_ ” he scoffed. He moved forward to give a lingering kiss to Hange’s scarred shoulder popping out the steamy opaque water. “Even asleep, you wouldn’t shut up about yours and Moblit’s shitty titan theories.”

“ _Hey!_ ” Hange shrieked, turning to slap Levi on his arm, splashing him and the floor with water in the process.

The laughter in their voice was unmistakable though, his wet shirt or the mess Hange was making in the bathroom didn’t matter… because they had laughed. Levi had missed that sound.

“Hold still or you’re going to soak me,” he ordered pondering if that had been Hange’s plan all along.

On any other day, he might have complained and huffed about it, but not now. Not today. The familiarity and intimacy of the moment was too tempting. He had missed it. He had missed their time together, had missed the way Hange’s eyes used to sparkle at the wonders of the world.

In silence, he rinsed the shampoo away with extreme care. He noticed Hange’s chest rising and falling, their breaths growing heavier. He reached for one of the towels at the chair’s back and dried the hair gently. Hange was clearly enjoying the pampering, their eye closed and face tilted upwards like a particularly spoiled cat. He smiled gently at the sight, understanding the amount of trust they had for each other.

When Levi finished, he tossed towel back and rested his chin over Hange’s shoulder, their faces pressed together at the cheek, he moved both hands down their flat chest. Hands grazing over scars weathered by time to finally rest on the flat of Hange’s belly. Hange’s arms that were haphazardly perched on the edge of the tub broke out into goosebumps at the tickling sensation. They stirred at his fingers tapping against their skin, arms dipping into the lukewarm bathwater to lay their hands over his.

“I missed this,” he confessed, voice barely above a whisper. “I missed _you_.”

“Levi–” Hange squeezed his hands and looked like they were going to say something they didn’t have the time to properly discuss.

“It’s late, get your ass out of the bath,” he cut them off, getting up from the creaky chair and shaking the bath water from his hands. He towered slightly over the tub, trying his best not to look directly at Hange’s face, still tilted up with a vulnerable swath of neck showing. Hange stretched their arms and caught his face with their water wrinkled hands. They both fell silent and didn’t move for what seemed like an eternity. A single brown eye gazing into grey with some complex emotion Levi didn’t have the vocabulary to describe.

“Come here,” Hange whispered, pulling him down by the lapels of his shirt, their lips meeting in the middle. Levi gave a grunt at the awkward angle he was pulled into.

Levi met their lips hesitantly at first, but quickly he found familiarity in Hange’s kiss.

**…**

Armin had been worried about the Commander. Which may be why he had decided to come back to Hange’s room with some food and a hot cup of that strong dark beverage Onyankopon had introduced them to.

Upon entering the room, he was surprised when he found the Commander’s clothes folded neatly on the edge of the desk with said Commander nowhere in sight. Armin saw the flickering light underneath the bathroom door and the tell-tale trickle of water splashing against water. No other noises though, which was very unlike Hange.

_What if they fell asleep in the bathtub and drowned?!_ He thought, horrified. _The military chain of command would be broken! More chaos would fall upon them!_

In a hurry and without a second thought, Armin dropped the tray of food off at Hange’s desk and barged into the bathroom, expecting the worst.

“ _Hange-san!_ ”

Armin stopped dead in his tracks. He couldn’t tell if what he had expected to find was better or worse than what he actually found. Captain Levi was bent forward, caught up in what appeared to be a very intense kiss with the Commander. The Commander… that was currently very naked. The Captain’s eyes darted over to him and Armin decided that Levi’s glare was worse in every way.

“Shit!” Levi exclaimed, parting from Hange at the intrusion. “What the fuck are you even doing in Hange’s private chambers this late, Arlert?” The Captain barked.

“I– I– I thought–,” Armin tried to explain, eyes darting around the room, unsure of where to safely settle. Eyes darting back to Hange who without hurry or shame rose from the bathtub and grabbed a towel. Wrapping themselves in it.

“It’s all right, Armin. As you can see, I’m alive and well. Captain Levi is keeping me company while I bathed,” Hange looked over and gave Levi a familiar impish grin that barely hinted at the crazy they could reach on a good day.

_Shitty-glasses, you’re going to pay for this!_ He thought with a scowl. Levi was not pleased to see Arlert connecting the dots in his head. That little shit was too smart for his own damn good and fucking nosey too.

“Go Armin, we don’t want to keep you awake any longer.” Hange said, not unkindly but in a tone that brooked no argument.

How on earth Hange managed to remain so airy amid an embarrassing situation, Levi would never know. But of course, Hange probably didn’t find the situation all that mortifying in the first place.

Armin saluted awkwardly and left the Commander’s quarters, face a few shades on the red side, and definitely a changed man.

“ _What the fuck, Hange?_ ” Levi turned to face them, not sure if he was more embarrassed for Hange or worried about what Armin might say to his friends. Hange snorted and broke out into laughter.

Levi would have scolded them, but they were laughing. _Again._ It warmed a part of his heart he didn’t remember having. He chose to leave well enough alone, instead he walked over to them and wrapped them properly in the towel.

**…**

“That kid is going to be traumatised,” Levi said when he turned in the bed to face Hange, a loving hand going to caress the side of their face. “We broke him.”

“Him! You should’ve seen _your_ face, Levi,” Hange said with a hoarse chuckle. “Humanity’s strongest my ass.” They muttered with a smirk still on their face. That shit-eating grin would have normally pissed him off, but he couldn’t remember the last time he had seen it; so, he thought it better to let it stay, for now.

“ _Shut up_ , shitty eye-patch.”

It felt nice to feed their starving relationship. Among everyday chaos, politics and diplomacy. Imminent war and genocide, Levi had forgotten how precious their domestic moments were.

“Armin is going to be _just_ fine,” Hange said quietly, their voice heavy with sleep. With his hand, Levi swept away Hange’s fringe and left a light kiss on their forehead. Who easily snuggled against his body. The weight along his side familiar and welcome.

“I know,” Levi wrapped them with his arms, nobody mentioning the tighter than necessary squeeze he gave to Hange’s bicep. He turned and blew out the candle on the night table. Gazing into the dark room, the gentle rise and fall slowly rocking him to sleep.

“ _We_ will be just fine, Levi.” They murmured quietly, the unforgiving clutches of sleep temping them further. He let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding, the sound deafening in the quiet of their private quarters.

“I know,” he said.

Levi almost believed it too. He so desperately wanted to believe it. For _everybody’s_ sake.

“Night, Hange.” A slight snore answered him. And then, he was asleep.

*******

**Author's Note:**

> If you leave kudos and/or comments, Hange and Levi will visit your dreams. Just think about it ;-)


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